Travel Updates and Prayer Requests
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00:00:04.800 | Pastor John, you have been busy traveling the second half of 2013.
00:00:09.100 | You traveled from Knoxville to Minneapolis for the DG National Conference on C.S. Lewis,
00:00:12.460 | of course, and then on to Ohio, Atlanta, Idaho, Texas, and now you're out of the country altogether,
00:00:18.160 | and will be spending just about all of November in the Middle East.
00:00:21.680 | I guess the place to begin is to ask if you've traveled to the UAE before.
00:00:26.880 | I have never been to the United Arab Emirates.
00:00:30.640 | I've never been to the Middle East at all.
00:00:34.320 | In fact, it might help people to know where is that place.
00:00:38.360 | My guess is lots of people couldn't put their finger on it.
00:00:42.040 | The major cities in the UAE, the United Arab Emirates, are Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
00:00:48.720 | There are, of course, others, but those are the two where I'll be.
00:00:52.880 | The UAE is on the southern part of the Persian Gulf, borders on the west on Saudi Arabia,
00:01:01.400 | and then across the Gulf is Iran.
00:01:05.980 | So that gives you a perspective on where it is.
00:01:09.260 | On this same trip, I'm going to Ethiopia to Addis Ababa with Jason Meyer, my replacement
00:01:15.440 | at Bethlehem.
00:01:16.440 | This is really exciting to me.
00:01:19.160 | We're going to do a pastor's conference in Ethiopia.
00:01:21.640 | He's not part of the event in the UAE, so we'll be working through the first five chapters
00:01:26.280 | of 2 Corinthians there in Ethiopia, just try to encourage pastors.
00:01:31.880 | My sense is what I want to happen there is that pastors not only get encouraged to keep
00:01:37.400 | looking at the book and digging, but to be confident they can find meaning for themselves.
00:01:42.640 | We want to, Jason and I both, want to help them see what is there so that they can see
00:01:48.420 | how they can get it without dependence on us.
00:01:52.480 | But in the UAE, I'll visit two Christian churches, one in Dubai, one in Abu Dhabi, and the political
00:01:58.720 | leaders in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been very generous to Christians to approve the building
00:02:07.460 | of these churches, even to help in the land, I believe.
00:02:11.720 | And Muslims, of course, do not believe it is right for any Muslim to convert to Christianity.
00:02:17.560 | It's forbidden there.
00:02:20.040 | But they know that there are thousands of expatriates in the UAE who are not Muslim,
00:02:26.760 | and they have been willing, and it seems eager and supportive for these Christians to have
00:02:32.600 | a place of worship in both of those cities.
00:02:37.320 | So I'll be ministering in part, part of the time, along with Mark Dever there to these
00:02:43.560 | churches, or to one of the churches with Mark, and I don't think with the other, in doing
00:02:48.080 | a conference there.
00:02:49.880 | And our hope is that we would encourage them, strengthen their faith, show them the greatness
00:02:55.000 | of God, stir them up for the kinds of love and good works that Jesus commands of them
00:03:00.120 | there in the UAE, and it's just a huge privilege to be called to do this.
00:03:06.400 | Traveling, Tony, is not my forte.
00:03:09.520 | I do not like to get on planes and stand in customs lines, and, oh, I get so uptight about
00:03:16.360 | these things, and don't sleep all that well on long flights.
00:03:20.320 | And so I would just love for the folks to pray for us in this, for strength and health
00:03:27.000 | and the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and for ripple effects for the glory of Jesus in ways
00:03:32.440 | that only He can dream of.
00:03:35.320 | The dates of the trip are November 3 through 25 for the totality of it, so if the folks,
00:03:42.800 | any time during that, find it in their heart to pray, that would be great.
00:03:47.680 | Yes, we do appreciate your prayers for Pastor John and for Jason Meyer as well, in their
00:03:52.160 | time away, for travel and safety and health, and for the effectiveness of their teaching
00:03:56.240 | and preaching there.
00:03:57.640 | I'm your host, Tony Ranke.
00:03:59.320 | Thanks for listening, and thanks for praying.
00:04:00.600 | [END]
00:04:01.100 | 1.
00:04:02.100 | What is the Holy Spirit's purpose in the world?
00:04:03.100 | 2.
00:04:04.100 | What is the Holy Spirit's purpose in the world?
00:04:05.100 | 3.
00:04:06.100 | What is the Holy Spirit's purpose in the world?
00:04:07.100 | 4.
00:04:08.100 | What is the Holy Spirit's purpose in the world?
00:04:09.100 | 5.